


A Momentary Lapse of Reason

by Meridian (Meri)



Category: Homicide: Life on the Street
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-09-01
Updated: 2001-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-12 00:41:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/118906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meri/pseuds/Meridian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim Bayliss and Rene Sheppard go out on a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Checking himself in the rear-view mirror, Tim Bayliss straightened his tie for the third time in as many minutes. On a whim, he'd asked Sheppard out again. Not really expecting a different answer from the last time, he'd been more than pleased when she'd said yes. It surprised him. That a woman as beautiful as she was would agree to go out with a regular guy like him, a bi-curious guy like him, but he supposed that even stunning women got lonely, too.

Still, he couldn't believe he was actually going to do this. Dating a colleague. Jesus, that was never good idea -- witness his disaster of a date with Laura Ballard, not to mention departmental policy on inter-squad dating, but he could not help himself. Still, she was just too beautiful and too tall to resist.

It wasn't that he had anything against short women. Actually, most of the women he'd dated had been short. Emma Zoole sprang immediately to mind since she was probably the shortest of them all. She had to be at least a foot shorter than he was.

Still, there was just something so damned wonderful about being able to look right into a woman's eyes without having to stoop or even look down too far. And, at 5'10 or 11", Sheppard was as tall as most of the men he'd dated. Not that there were all that many of those, either.

Getting out of the car and going up the stairs two at a time, he tried without much success to contain his excitement. As he stood outside her door, he hesitated again, taking a deep breath. Did he really want to do this? Yeah, he did, in for a penny and all. He knocked.

"Hi," Sheppard said, as she opened the door.

Wow! Dressed up she was even more beautiful than she'd been in working clothes. The little black dress she wore wasn't that tight, but it outlined her figure, hinting at better things underneath. Tim licked his suddenly dry lips and tried to breathe normally.

"Uh...hi," he said belatedly, realizing he was standing there with his mouth hanging open. Oh, great. What a way to start things off.

"Do you want to come in?" Her voice was like velvet over his senses.

"Huh?"

"Come in, Bayliss, for a drink?" She smiled, not seeming to care about his hesitations.

"Oh. Yeah. That'd be nice." God, he was acting like a teenager with a crush. But unfortunately, that wasn't far off from how he felt. Straightening his spine, he mentally berated himself to get a grip; she was a colleague, he should be treating her like one.

A quick glance around showed a comfortable apartment, with a riot of color everywhere. The furniture was cozy, but not new -- lived in was how he'd probably describe it. It wasn't all that neat either, magazines, newspapers, other papers decorated all the flat surfaces. There were about a million plants and other types of greenery scattered around the large room. Tim couldn't process all the chaos. "Some place you have here."

She beamed at him, taking his words as a compliment. "Yeah. I like a lot of color."

"And clutter?" Oh, God why had he said that? Rule number one is to never insult your date, *especially* on the first date. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

Shaking her head, Sheppard's smile widened. "It's okay. I do like a lot of clutter. It helps me focus."

"How?" That made no sense at all. Clutter drove him nuts. He needed order in his life to even begin to comprehend the complexities, not that he had a lot of luck making sense of anything lately, but he ceased to function in chaos.

"I can focus in on one thing at a time when there's a lot of sensory input." Her elegant hand swept the room.

Tim shook his head. "I don't get it."

"Just trust me. What works for me probably wouldn't work for everyone."

Giving up trying to follow her logic, he smiled. "Okay."

"What can I get you?"

"A beer?" It didn't matter to him. With his throat completely dry from his nerves, anything would taste good right now.

"Sure." She left the room, upon returning she handed him a bottle.

"Thanks," he whispered, as she sat down next to him. Close. Way too close, he could smell the subtle perfume she was wearing and it sliced into his senses, making him nuts. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement. If it wouldn't have been completely obvious, he might have shifted away.

God, he really *was* acting like a teenager, but she made him feel gawky and awkward. It occurred to him that he never felt this way at work, so what was wrong with him now? It was just that first dates never went well for him. He had a feeling this was not going to be much different, especially if he didn't relax a little.

Sheppard must have noticed something. "Tim? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." His voice had a definite croak to it. He took a sip of his beer, hoping it would help.

She paused, just looking at him for a long time and then she smiled, seeming to come to a decision. "Look, let's just get this over with and then we can go on."

Get what over with? He turned toward her, ready to tell her that they should forget the whole thing, and just stay friends like she'd first suggested.

Sheppard's hand slid onto his cheek, caressing his skin ever so gently. Meeting her eyes, he couldn't not believe the intention he saw there. Excitement surged through him and his pulse started to drum in his ears.

Slowly, her mouth moved toward his until their lips were pressed together softly, sweetly once, twice and then clung hungrily.

She kissed him deeply, putting the passion that had simmered between them since they had met into the kiss. Tim responded helplessly, making a sound in the back of his throat, something between a moan of pleasure and a cry of disbelief

He knotted his hand into her curls, holding her still, and molded his mouth to hers. Sheppard's mouth opened under his as he outlined her lush lips with his tongue. She tasted good, of beer and her own sweetness. Tim's heart pounded with exhilaration, his mind spun out under the intense pleasure of her response.

Without breaking the kiss, Sheppard's hands slid through his short hair, and down his back, clutching him closer. Her body pressed tightly against his thrilled him. This was such a surprise, he hadn't expected to even kiss her goodnight, and here she was kissing him thoroughly, as he hadn't been kissed for too long.

That wonderful sexual haze started tapping at the edges of his consciousness, promising to take him away on a magic carpet ride. But he knew this moment had to end soon. If it didn't, he would surely lose any control of the situation. Still, he wasn't the one who was going to end it. It felt too dammed good to stop if he didn't have to.

And maybe it wouldn't have to end after all. Sheppard's clever fingers had started to unknot the tie he'd been fiddling with all night. He was shocked, not so much by her boldness as by her willingness to do this at all, but if she was willing, so was he. Tim moved his mouth to her neck, kissing and nipping along the side of her jaw, and down the long column of her throat.

This time, she was the one who made the noises. Sensitive neck -- Tim filed the information away for future reference and concentrated on his task. Sheppard's flesh tasted good, but her dress was not cut low enough he thought as he ran his tongue along the skin on the inside edge of her neckline.

Sheppard had gotten his tie off and was now working the buttons on his dress shirt. He couldn't believe she was going to let this happen. Maybe he should pull back? No, that was the last thing he wanted to do, and it might hurt her, better to let her lead.

It was getting harder and harder to keep himself in check. He wanted nothing more than to let go and float along with the fog that he knew would envelope him. If he could avoid giving in to it until he knew where they were going with this, he would be better off.

But it didn't look like they were going to stop. His shirt was completely gone and she'd started on his belt.

In for a penny.... He reached around the back of her dress and found the zipper, lowering it slowly, giving her plenty of time to change her mind. When she didn't, Tim's excitement level jumped again.

Sheppard let go of his trousers and pulled her arms out of the open dress, leaving herself bare to the waist. He stroked his fingers slowly up her naked back. Her skin was perfect; the color of black coffee with a dollop of heavy cream in it, the feel like pure silk. Small and high, her breasts fit perfectly in his hands. Caressing the nipples with his thumbs, Tim bent his head to take a taste.

Another low groan came from her and her neck arched backward, giving him greater access. He shifted, pulling her dress and remaining few garments off and then lowering her to the sofa. Lying down on top of her as gently as he could, he was sure to take his weight on his elbows and knees so that he wouldn't crush her. She pushed his pants and boxers down and he had to shift again to get them off, along with his shoes.

Skin to skin felt exquisite. Tim lowered his head to her chest again, moving his mouth slowly downward. He had every intention of savoring each inch of her, slowly, with great attention to details.

Brushing his face against the soft inside of her thigh, he nibbled upward from her knees until he got to the juncture between her legs. His tongue moved inward, sucking and licking until he felt her stiffen and cry out softly. A finger, then two eased into her; soft and wet, she was ready at last.

Turning them both again so that she was on top, he held himself steady as she lowered herself onto him.

Yes! oh God yes! His head fell back against the cushions as she started to move against him. At last he could let the fog come, let his mind slip away and enjoy the ride. This had been her show the whole way, and now he would go with it out and just enjoy. Closing his eyes, he let her movements take him, until finally they broke apart into flying colors. He came hard, crying out her last name.

When he caught his breath, she was lying on top of him, sweaty and plaint. He moved his hands up and down her back comfortingly. That had been amazing.

"Sheppard?" Tim ventured, when his breathing had gotten relatively back to normal.

"You know, Tim, you could call me Rene." At least there was a note or two of amusement in the wry tone.

"Sorry. Yeah, you're right. Rene." He liked the sound of it.

"Nice, huh?" She kissed him again, languidly.

"Oh, yeah. Very nice. But why?"

"Because it would have been between us, making it hard to work together." Her hand stroked along his arm, slowly moving up and down the inside.

"And this won't?" Tim wasn't sure he believed that, or that he wanted to. Though he wasn't going to argue with her logic. It had put her into his arms for however long this lasted.

"No. I think this will take the tension and discomfort out of our relationship."

"I don't know." He shook his head. How in the world was he going to work with her without thinking of what she felt like lying naked on top of him?

"Trust me, Tim. I'm very attracted to you and I want to be able to work with without wondering all the time what it would be like. Now, I know and so do you." She stroked up his chest gently.

His skin was still sensitized, and he shivered a little at the touch. "So, you sleep with everyone who finds you attractive?" His brain still wasn't firing on all thrusters yet, but what was the sense in that?

Shaking her head, Rene smiled. "Only those *I* find attractive. There aren't that many men who fit into the category."

Maybe he missed something. "Then why me?"

"I find you very, very attractive." She stressed the word very, like she really found him that attractive.

"Me?" Even he could hear the disbelief in his voice. It wasn't that no one had ever found him attractive, they had, but generally it wasn't someone he was really attracted to. There were a few notable exceptions, Emma Zoole topped the list. But that hadn't worked out either.

Rene just laughed, a marvelous, warm sound. "Yes. You. I think I just proved it, didn't I?"

Nodding slowly, he supposed that she had a point. And he'd really liked the way she'd proved it. "I guess you did."

"Don't sound so astounded. You're a very good-looking man, Tim." She carded her fingers through his hair, leaning over to kiss him again.

"I don't think so." Women, and the occasional man these days, tended to find his looks somewhere between boy-next-door cute and pleasant enough. He was too tall and too awkward to really be great looking.

"I suspect that most women don't see past the fact you don't think of yourself as beautiful."

"I don't." But that did make some sense to him. If he didn't think he was good-looking, why would anyone else? And he really didn't want to think about why he might not have such a high opinion of his own looks.

"I know. But you are. We all are in our own way. But you are especially so." She moved her hand to his face and pulled him forward for another kiss. For a while they lay there exchanging kisses and caresses.

Starting to get aroused again, Tim decided that getting off this couch seemed like a really good idea. "Do you have a bed?"

Rene laughed softly. "Of course. Would you like to see it?"

"Yeah."

She stood up with utter disregard for the fact she was nude. Of course, when a person looked that good with their clothes off, it was easy to be unselfconsciously naked. "Come on, let's get comfortable."

Hand in hand, she led him into her bedroom -- which looked like the rest of the house -- a riot of color. Flipping the bedspread and blankets to the foot of the bed, Rene lay down, holding out a hand to him. He joined her on the flat surface, taking her into his arms. God, she felt good, but she was right, some of the passion he'd felt had eased a little. At least he could think again and his nerves had calmed, smiling, he realized all of him was quite relaxed.

* * *

Now it was her turn, Rene decided as they started to kiss again. That big, pale body held secrets she wanted to discover. Shifting, she straddled Tim's hips, putting her hands on his chest. Rene leaned down and took his mouth again. Submitting to her tongue, Tim was nothing if not a giving lover.

His hands roamed her back and thighs, bringing exquisite pleasure. Enjoying the sensations, Rene pulled away, not wanting to get lost in the bliss too quickly. Applying her mouth to his chest, she spent some time finding out what made him squirm, or sigh. Tim was easily pleased. He liked to be touched and fondled, his breath caught often as she moved along his delicious flesh.

Long and lean, he was a delight to touch and she indulged herself shamelessly, licking and nipping until she reached his groin. He leaned up on his elbows to watch her take him into her mouth.

Breathing in deeply, she adored the musky smell of him. Wrapping her hand around the base, she moved her head up and down as Tim groaned low and deep in his throat and fell flat onto the bed. His hips rose each time her head came down.

Tim's hand touched her shoulder, letting her know he was close. Reluctantly she raised her head. "What would you like?"

He was breathing hard. "Anything. Please."

Lying down on her back next to him, she smiled. "Your turn to be on top."

Despite the state of arousal he was in, he started slowly, never resting his full weight on her. Sheathed deeply, Tim moved with a strong rhythm and Rene went with him, swept up in the passion of the moment.

Her heartbeat doubled and tripled as she rushed toward climax. Groaning loudly as he continued to move in her, she came. And came again, before he finished. Sweating and out of breath, Rene was so sated she could go to sleep right away.

As it happened, Tim had other plans. He pulled her gently into his arms, kissing her softly and caressing her body. "Damn. That was good."

"Yeah, wasn't it though."

"You're good."

"Thanks. You too."

Stroking up her back with one hand, Tim's mouth nuzzled her neck. "Mmmm."

"Sleepy?" She sure was. Making love like this was hard work, worth it for sure, but really hard work.

"A little." His soft words were belayed by a huge yawn.

"Let go to sleep."

"What about dinner?" Tim asked as if he suddenly remembered that they had dinner reservations or something.

Energy had started to seep back into her body and she didn't feel like she was going to fall asleep any second now. "I guess we missed it. Are you unhappy about that?"

"Do I get a rain check?"

Rene thought about it for a moment. It wasn't that she didn't want to have dinner with Tim, she did, and likely would. But she really didn't want to date him. Or at least not until they were much better friends.

When the silence had gone on for too long, Tim raised up a little to look down at her in the dim light. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I really just want us to be friends."

Tim sighed long and loud. "Okay. I was okay with that to begin with."

She could almost hear the disappointment in the quiet words. "No, you weren't. Not really. If you were, you wouldn't have asked me out, again."

When he'd asked a second time, she hadn't wanted to turn him down twice. Rene had also known that he wanted to be more than just friends. Planning the evening to end as it had, and hoping that being together once would be enough to dispel at least some of the sexual attraction between them, she had agreed to go to dinner.

Tim nodded. "That's true. I'm really attracted to you."

"I know." She smiled.

"I don't know why, but I do think that being just friends might be easier now. It shouldn't be though, should it?"

"Why not? We aren't really lovers."

"No. But we could be."

"And lose being friends?"

"You really don't think we can be both?"

"Have you ever?" That was the bottom line, she knew that they needed to be friends first or they would never be anything else, including that.

Tim shook his head. "No."

"Me neither. And I need a friend in the department more than I need a lover. Wonderful though you are."

"Am I?" A smile touched his pale lips and a hint of pride entered his light brown eyes.

Why hadn't enough women complimented him? What made a man as lovely as Tim so unsure of himself? She planned to find out, but as a friend not a lover. "Yeah."

He kissed her again, cuddling close. "Thanks."

Drowsiness starting to edge into her consciousness, she turned onto her belly and put her head on his shoulder. "I'm beat. It was a tough week."

"Yeah. That's certainly true." His arms slid around her. "Night."

She lay in his arms for a while, listening to his breathing even out. Was she doing the right thing? Did she really want to give Tim up as a lover? His skills topped most men that she'd ever met. But no, if she really wanted him, this was the best way to do it. As she saw it, Tim wasn't going to fall in love easily, the only way for it to happen at all would be with a good, close friend. And the remembrance of passion would add a bit of spice between them.

Rene hadn't been lying when she'd told him she wanted a male friend, someone she could be close to. If they turned out to be more than that in the future, all to the good. If not, she still had a friend she could confide in, someone who knew the work and could understand where she was coming from.

Closing her eyes, she pushed the thoughts away, letting sleep take her.

* * *

Rene woke with the sun shining brightly through the lace curtains of her bedroom. Warm and snug, she felt wonderful. Tim was wrapped around her, still asleep. His soft breath gliding over her ear, tickling a little.

She felt it the moment he woke. His breathing changed, and his arms tightened around her.

"Good morning," he whispered, kissing the back of her neck

Turning around, she snuggled down into his arms again, thinking seriously of relenting last night's decision. He felt so damned good, warm and comfortable.

He brought it up first.

"So we're just going to be friends after last night?" Tim asked, nuzzling her neck.

His lips made contact with her sleepy flesh and perked it up nicely. If she wasn't really careful she could be badly distracted. "'fraid so."

"What if I don't want to?" The pout in his voice was more than clear.

But she knew she was doing the right thing. "You do though, don't you?"

"How can you know me so well, so quickly? Yeah. I do. I like you." The vibrations of his voice against her skin slid right through her. And he smiled.

She could really get lost in that smile if she didn't watch it. "But now that the lust has burned off, it's not going to be love, is it?"

He shrugged his wide shoulders. "I don't know. Probably not. But there's still some passion to burn off. If you'd like." His hand ran up her thigh, slowly, caressing the tender skin just inside her knee. Damn, he was good at that.

She nodded, in answer to his question. One more time wouldn't hurt at all, at least she hopped not. "The day's still young."

"So it is."

Wrapping her arms and legs around his long body, she let him take her away again.

\--finis


End file.
